The Name of the Game
by theWanderingOne
Summary: Set post Into Darkness so there will be spoilers. Kirk just woke up from his coma and has been placed in the care of Spock until McCoy deems him well enough to live on his own again. Kirk does his best to ignore it but something inside him is pulling him towards Spock romantically. (better description inside. K/S lemon later)
1. Chapter 1

_**Title: The Name of the Game**_

**_Pairing: Jim Kirk x Spock_**

**_Rating: M for sexual content in later chapters (and possibly language at times) male x male you have been warned_**

**_Summary: Set post-Into Darkness so spoilers! Kirk just woke up from his coma after dying and being brought back to life. Now he lives with Spock, his caretaker, in a small house. Kirk slowly starts to realize he may just feel something for his Vulcan counterpart, but how can he ever express his emotions to an alien who prides himself on not having any? Takes place during the year after Kirk's death and up into the beginning of their five year mission__. Yes yes, there will be sex. I promise._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or the characters or anything like that._**

"Captain." The word is soft and worrisome, considering the lips it's uttered from. Jim Kirk closes his eyes, the vulture of a First Officer hovering around him like a pest once again.

"Spock I already told you, I'm fine. Bones cleared me for this and everything."

"I was merely about to ask if you were ready to leave. It has been nearly one point two hours since we arrived here."

Kirk taps his fingers gently against the armrest of his wheelchair, scowling in obvious annoyance. "Spock if you're so ready to leave, by all means I can make it back to the house myself. It's not even that far away."

Ever since Kirk had awoken in the hospital about a month ago, his First Officer hadn't left his side save for a few important times Starfleet dragged him away forcibly. He can't deny it made a smile tug at his weary lips every time he opened his eyes and saw a worn out half-Vulcan asleep in the chair next to him. Spock wouldn't admit that he stayed with him past the brink of exhaustion and Kirk never felt the need to point it out to him.

"You know as well as I that Doctor McCoy would have a few of his, shall I say, 'choice words' to say to me should you return alone with the story I left you here."

Kirk sighs, Spock is right, the good doctor had given Spock a piece of his mind on multiple occasions now for even the most petty things. Kirk never should have told Bones that deepest secret he holds so close to him. He quickly decides to change the subject.

"Spock I'm surprised even you don't feel at least a little _something_ about this, I mean it was your ass in it at the time." The Captain is trying to pry at least some emotional slip out of his friend, something to show that he, like his alternate self, could feel even the smallest amount.

"It is merely a seat, Captain; I still do not understand why they so vehemently demanded its removal from the ship to be placed here."

The battered _Enterprise _was being subjected to all sorts of renovations and construction at the moment, and Starfleet had issued a request to take the captain's seat from the bridge and place it in a museum right alongside the George Kirk exhibit. For three days, Kirk had demanded to be brought down here and had done nothing but glare at it deep in thought, a real character shift for the quarrelsome, swaggering captain that Spock is so used to.

"All right Spock, let's go home." Kirk turns his chair around with ease, but Spock overpowers him with superior Vulcan strength and takes over pushing the wheelchair, leaving Kirk to sigh once more and lounge about limply.

About two weeks ago, Bones had discharged Kirk from the hospital on the grounds he go and live with someone who can care for him. That's how he ended up in a Starfleet issued flat with none other than Spock himself. Of course Doctor McCoy comes every morning and night to check up on his patient and friend, and to issue necessary medicine, but otherwise the stoic Vulcan is his only companion. Living with the half-breed is hard enough, but Kirk's world came crashing in the day he realized that he might just be falling hard for the pointy-eared bastard.

~~~X~~~

_"Jim." The word is so soft, so gentle, caressing his body almost like a tender touch. Kirk groans and tightens his fists in his lover's dark hair, pulling him down for a rough kiss that's all tongue and teeth._

_ "Ah. F-fuck Spock. Right there." Kirk pants, his face scrunched up a bit and brow gleaming with sweat._

_ The Vulcan obediently thrusts up again, the tip of his thick double ridged cock pounding mercilessly against that sensitive bundle of nerves over and over, driving the driveling Captain insane. Spock has his fingers pressed against Kirk's face in a mind meld, the sensations buzzing back and forth along the connection like aphrodisiac, heightening each touch, each thrust to new levels of pleasure._

_ "Spock. Spock I'm gonna come!"_

_ "Let go, Jim." Spock can't quite contain the desire clouding his dark eyes. When he's with Kirk is the only time he'll let down his guard down enough to let his human emotions take hold._

_ Kirk does exactly what his lover says, crying out in delirious white hot pleasure as his orgasm pushes from the end of his cock, dripping his seed like a river down onto his chest. The shock of Kirk cumming sends pulses through the bond to Spock who rams himself deep into the others ass, Kirk's walls clamping down tight around the thick appendage as the Vulcan explodes inside him._

Kirk's eyes flash open to a dark room, damp messed up sheets, and his chest rising and falling quickly. A dream, all of it a goddamn dream, and the problem is that this isn't the first one like it.

"Captain, are you okay?"

Kirk's heart stops for a second before taking off once more like a starship at Warp 8. Why is he in here?

"Mr. Spock." He tries to keep his tone level and bored, tightening a fist in the sheets as a way to calm himself down. He knows he has a boner, but hopes the thick comforter twisted around his waist and through his legs and the darkness of the room will hide that from the perceptive intruder. "May I help you?"

"You were calling my name. I logically assumed you required something."

"Right. No, bad dream is all Mr. Spock, just reliving a few of our testy missions together subconsciously."

"And that made you call for me?"

"Well it wasn't on purpose, maybe I needed your help in the dream, I don't know Spock just go back to bed I'm fine."

Kirk's baby-blues cut through the darkness to look at the tall male in his room, and he's shocked to see his brows furrowed in a look of…disappointment? He couldn't tell because the moment he refocuses on Spock's face, it was gone, replaced by that usual cool stare.

"If that'll be all then." Kirk hates the even tone Spock's assumed, he only ever sounds like this when he's struggling to keep a hold of his emotions. "Goodnight Captain. Doctor McCoy will be here in a few hours to administer your medicine so I suggest you get some rest because you are, as the humans put it, 'ornery' when you're woken up on too little sleep."

Kirk grumbles something incoherent and turns over, pulling up the blankets. Sex had never shaken up the infallible James T. Kirk before. To him, sex was just a thing to get over heartbreak, loneliness, or anger. Granted, Kirk has never slept with anyone he's loved before, but he didn't connect that it would be any different like that. So why did Spock always get to him? The way he lifts his eyebrow at the Doctor's metaphors or the way his lips quirk up ever so slightly around the edges just for a second whenever Kirk is being his usual witty self, sends shivers up and down Kirks spine.

He tosses and turns the rest of that night, his mind replaying the dream over and over in vivid clarity no matter how hard he tries to distract himself. Finally he gives up and lies on his back in submission until Bones comes a-calling around 0600.

"Jim!" the country doctor says, surprised to see his friend up at such a time. Normally Spock and he have a time rousing the stubborn Kirk to at least some form of life so early in the morning to take his medicine.

"Morning Bones." He replies, his voice laden with exhaustion.

Spock is already up and by his captain's side as the old friends exchange their greetings. A few injections and a pill or two later, they're sitting in a small living area around a sharp-edged coffee table, McCoy in a dark overstuffed armchair, and Spock and Kirk side by side on a matching sofa. Only a well-trained eye can see how stiff Kirk is in his seat and how he pauses for a quick second every time his shoulder bumps into Spock's.

"Bones I need to take a piss." Kirk states unceremoniously, cutting Spock off mid-sentence.

"I'll take you, Captain."

"Nah Bones' got me. That right, doc?"

"Spock is fully capable to—" he trails off when he sees that dangerous glare behind those naturally bright blue eyes. "right right, obligations as your doctor and what not." He scowls but moves over to Kirk, leaning down and hoisting him up to lean against him.

"You do know I can walk, right?"

"And I don't care." Bones does let up on his patient a bit, allowing him to support himself, but offering his body as a crutch should the other require it.

"I had that fucking dream again Bones." Kirk says when he deems them safely out of the Vulcan's precise hearing range, locked away in his bathroom. "You're the doctor, what's wrong with me?"

"Jim you know that answer as well as I do. You're in love."

"No no no. With _him_? I knew you were crazy Bones, but this?"

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, Jim."

"What did I tell you about using metaphors like that Bones."

"All I'm saying is that you love him, plain and simple, you told me that yourself a few weeks ago."

"I had just come back to life, I was uttering nonsense."

Silence on both ends. The doctor had known Jim long enough to pick up on the smallest keys in his behavior, and Kirk knows he's right, he's just too stubborn to admit he has feelings for another man, the man being _Spock_ at that.

"Just tell him how you feel, worst he can do is tell you no."

"I'll still have to live with him, even if he does say no"

"He bars his emotions; he'll act like it never happened most likely"

"And that'll make it so much more unbearable."

"Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a life coach! You're a grown man, you can deal with a little relationship issue."

"Is everything all right in there?" Spock's voice is clear through the door as he raps three times. Kirk thanks whatever god may be listening that Bones thought to lock it, though; he wonders how much of the conversation he heard.

He motions for Bones to open the door. As soon as it slides away, Kirk saunters out, trying to hide the slight limp he still possesses.

"Yes yes, you know you don't have to hover around so much. I was only dead a little while, no biggie." Kirk immediately regrets the words as soon as they leave his mouth, and that's big because Jim regrets little in life.

He can see anger flash in the dark brown eyes of the half-Vulcan's eyes before is dissipates and Spock turns on the heel of his regulation boots and walks away.

"Well that was a little cold don't you think, Jim?"

Kirk just shrugs, swaying a bit. McCoy comes up beside him and assists him to the couch once more, but this time, Spock is nowhere in sight.

"Good job, you pissed off the hobgoblin who just so happened to be your caretaker. You know I have a life right? I can't sit around and cater to your sick needs all day just because you decided to be a jackass to the guy who deals with you all the time."

"Shut up. Go on you know I'm fine and that I'm not going anywhere. Spock'll cool off and be back within the hour. You know how he is. I'll just sit here till then."

"You know I can't do th—" Kirk holds up a hand to cut him off.

"Go Bones. Before I get up and throw you out. Even in this state I can kick your ass."

"Likely story" McCoy mutters, rolling his eyes as he pushes himself off the arm rests of his chair to his feet. "Move and I'll tell the hobgoblin the truth."

"You're an asshole."

"Tell the hobgoblin what?" Spock says his nickname with an air of distaste, his eyes narrowed at the two males in front of him.

McCoy takes one look at Kirk and rolls his eyes once again before facing down Spock. "Nothing, just don't let him talk you into allowing him to roam freely. He's still healing and as his doctor he's lucky I don't have him on strict bed rest still."

Eyeing the First Officer and then Kirk, he leaves, a scowl etched deep into his lips.

~~~X~~~

Spock cannot contain the sigh that escapes his mouth. Jim fell asleep on the couch…again. The Vulcan disappears into his room and returns with a blanket which he promptly covers the peaceful male with. Still slightly put off by the remark earlier, he'd spent most of the day avoiding Kirk. It had all actually started when he noticed how uncomfortable he was making his captain when they were seated together earlier that morning. Vulcan's are touch-telepaths, but with the clothing between them, he couldn't actually get any skin-to-skin contact to figure out what's wrong.

"Spock." The word is gentle like a sigh, much like it had been for quite a few nights now. The Vulcan had been getting up to check on Kirk to see if he needed something, but each night he'd find the male sound asleep, tangled up in his covers. Last night was the only time Spock decided to talk to him because he'd started moving around and holding fast to the sheets like he was having a nightmare.

He knows better than to initiate a mind meld without consent - it's unlawful and illegal, and every warning bell in his head tells him to just go to bed and ignore it for another night, but his legs move of their own accord, and soon he has his fingers pressed up to Kirk's face gently, seeing and feeling what he's experiencing.

It hits him like a blast, eliciting a sharp inhale of air into his lungs. Passion. Love. Lust. Desire. Emotions crush him in waves, blaring through the meld like a foghorn through the silent air. Never had he experienced such a powerful connection to someone like this, and he has to fight a bit to stay in control of himself.

That's when Kirk says his name again. But that's not all, this time he adds a little bit more. Three words that change the name of the game.

"Spock." Kirk murmurs unconsciously, "I love you."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hullo, bailey here. Thank you for the follows and favorites and comments and such. Here's the next chapter. i do not own Star Trek or the characters.**_

"I have already apologized numerous times, captain. There is no need to get testy."

"Testy? Oh I'll show you testy Spock. That's what you get for spying on my dreams like a pointy-eared bastard."

Upon hearing those three words uttered from his captains mouth, Spock had let out a long, low gasp that was a mix of surprise and delight. Being a light sleeper – an intrinsic habit instilled in Kirk from being captain of a ship and always on alert for danger – Kirk had quickly jolted awake to find fingers pressed to his face and Spock hovering over him. Since then he'd pried the truth out of the Vulcan about how he saw everything in his dream and felt it to, but that just made Kirk all the more embarrassed because he'd been having that dream again.

"Twice now I have pointed out that I have no problem fulfilling your desires, Captain. The job I was tasked with is to keep you comfortable and happy, and if that would make you happy I'd be willing to oblige."

To Kirk this sounds like: 'I'll do it if I have to, but I don't _want_ to' but in all actuality, Spock is trying his best to figure out a way to say 'I love you too' to Kirk.

"I don't want you to _oblige_ Spock. That's not how these things work."

"I apologize; I am still not completely familiar with every aspect of human courting and feelings."

"Even after Uhura?"

Spock stiffens at the mention of his old flame. She told him that she understood he was taking care of the captain, but he never seemed to make time for her, so she had found other options. That other option just happened to be Montgomery Scott, the ships very capable engineer.

"You have not even given me a chance, Captain. It has been said I am a very knowledgeable partner."

"Yes but how good are you when you don't _feel_ anything?"

"Allow me to show you since you doubt me so much."

Kirk's eyes warily follow Spock who rises from his spot in the dark armchair to come and stand over the human who's propped up on the couch. Blue meets brown, both gazes dead even and serious, but Kirk's covers a racing heart as he buries his hands under the blanket to hide the fact his palms are sweating.

"Spock, drop it…" he starts, but his words trail off as surprisingly soft lips are pressed against his own.

"I told you I am a quite knowledgeable partner, sir. I have even perfected the form of human kissing."

Kirk is rendered speechless, an impressive feat for the stoic First Officer, but through it all, Kirk still fails to see what Spock feels is obvious: that the Vulcan regrettably feels something for his Captain as well.

"Doctor McCoy will be here soon, Captain. I suggest you rest until he arrives."

"I was resting until you woke me up." He grumbles, trying to push aside the disappointment he feels from Spock acting like nothing just happened.

"Sleep, Jim. I'll wake you when the doctor arrives."

James Kirk falls asleep with a hint of a smile on his face. That is the first time Spock has called him Jim since the day he woke up in the hospital.

* * *

"And then he just kissed you?" Bones' voice is a harsh whisper as he and Kirk are once again locked in the bathroom like a pair of overanxious teenage girls talking about their boyfriends.

"Yeah, but he then he just ignored it right after like it never happened."

"Well, did you tell him how you feel?" Bones leans against the counter, his eyebrows raised, and eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Not on purpose. He did one of those creepy mind melds and apparently I confessed in my sleep. Not to mention the fact he saw what I was dreaming about."

This only heightens the joy in McCoy's eyes. He knows how Spock feels. He'd been with the Vulcan for the time when Kirk was in a coma, he'd seen the careful way Spock's eyes would stare longingly at his captain's sleeping form, or the way he'd hold Jim's hand and fall asleep on the edge of the bed when he thought no one was around to see.

"Captain." The door slides open to reveal Spock clad in his normal blue Starfleet shirt and black pants, his hands clasped behind his back. "I do believe you plan on making a habit of hiding away in the bathroom to discuss your feelings with McCoy. I worry how that is going to affect your health."

Kirk shoots a glance at McCoy who's beaming like an idiot now as he watches the pair like they're some sort of movie.

_Bones' knows something. I'm going to kill you McCoy._ Kirk's eyes bore daggers into Bones' skull, but it does nothing but elate the doctor further.

"As much as it pains me to say it, hobgoblin, you're right. I have other patients to deal with anyways." As he passes the tall first officer, he looks up at him with a pointed glare. His hand brushes against Spock's when he goes by – something that can innocently be shrugged off as an accident – but it's all the doctor needs to do to get his thoughts across to the Vulcan.

Spock raises an eyebrow as he reads the push in McCoy's mind. The person whose job it is to oppose Spock at every turn is the one who ultimately gives him the shove he needs to pursue the stubborn captain.

"Captain, I think it wise if you were to return to the couch. You do not seem entirely well-versed in the art of standing for long periods of time yet."

"I'm fine Spock" despite the charismatic evenness to his tone, Kirk doesn't meet Spock's eye for longer than a few seconds. He hesitantly raises a hand, pausing before clapping his Vulcan on the shoulder as he goes by.

Something tugs in Spock's mind, like someone is yanking on a cord in the back of his head. He's never felt it before but it seems to be pulling him towards Kirk; the further the captain walks away the harder it pulls. Little does he know it was his head egging him on after what it deemed a suitable match. His brain was unconsciously feeling and reaching out for Kirk's, wanting to touch and bond with it.

Spock hadn't thought of bonding, not since T'Pring. He isn't old enough for Pon Farr to affect him yet so it hadn't crossed his mind to start trying to find a bondmate. Apparently his head is deciding for him, which would mean Pon Farr may not be so far out of reach as he would've liked

_No_. Spock furrows his brows as Kirk walks away. _He would never accept such terms._

_ You never know unless you try._ The Vulcan stops short, though he's lost in thought in his own mind, that voice sounded surprisingly like the Enterprises' doctor's voice. A rather disconcerting thought to Spock.

"Mr. Spock." Kirk calls from the other room, his voice clear and demanding.

"I am here, Captain. Do you require something?" Spock walks after Kirk, eyeing him curiously.

Pause.

"'A knowledgeable partner' is what you called yourself, right?"

Spock raises an eyebrow at the inquiry, not sure what Kirk is getting at.

"Those were my words, yes."

"How knowledgeable is that? You're not saying whatever you can just to get in my pants are you?"

"I do not understand what you are inferring captain, I merely meant—"

"I was joking Spock. All this time cooped up with me and you still don't get it. I'll appeal to that human in you sometime."

"Is there a point to this conversation, sir? Or shall I resume my duties by making us lunch?"

"No no, there's a point. Sit down." He motions with his hands to the armchair across the table from him. Kirk is seated in the middle of the small couch, a long-sleeved shirt covering his arms and the blanket from Spock's room draped over his legs.

Spock agrees obediently and takes a seat, resting his hands politely on his lap with his back straight and stiff.

"Ever since last night you've been messing in my head and I don't like it." The captain's words are blunt and to the point causing Spock's eyes to widen.

The possible bond.

"What do you mean, Captain? You know as well as I that Vulcan can only read the people we perform a mind meld on, and only then when we are touching them."

"Yes yes I know that," Kirk waves Spock's comment off but puts his hand to his head for a second, flinching a bit. As he does, Spock can feel a tug from his end of the chord which makes his lips turn down in a frown for a fraction of a second. Despite his night time confession, the captain seemed adamantly against getting close to his first officer.

"I apologize. I believe it may be my fault. Vulcan's are highly sensitive to a compatible mind, especially around this time. I fear my mind is trying to bond to yours before I even begin the process."

"Bonding." Kirk tries it out on his tongue, weighing it and deciding how he feels about it.

"Yes. It is to Vulcans as marriage is to humans."

"So your mind is trying to marry mine? Not gonna lie that's kind of creepy Spock."

Spock dips his head in agreement, looking down at his conjoined hands with an inaudible sigh. This sounds like rejection to the Vulcan so he decides to let the topic drop, doing his best to reign in his mind as it probes Kirk's for a connection.

"Would be nice if you at least asked me out to dinner before proposing to me. God you Vulcan's are fucked up in the head."

Spock's head shoots up at this comment, unsure if he is reading his captain's words correctly. Was that an 'okay'?

"You do know what bonding entails, right?"

"Not at all."

"And you would still go along with it blindly?"

"No. I didn't say I was all ready and game to jump into a marriage. Sorry Spock, I'm still healing." _And I don't want to hurt you with my reckless stupidity like I've done to so many others_. He adds in his head, not wanting to break Spock's heart like countless others before.

"Then why were you implying when you said—"

Kirk holds up a hand to cut the first officer off.

"Fill me in, tell me just what it means to be bonded or whatever. You've been in my head, I just need to know I'm not hopping into bed for eternity with some emotionless alien. You know how I am with commitment." Kirk didn't mean Spock to take it like he was brushing off the ideals and importance of bonding to Vulcans, but then again James Kirk doesn't usually think before he speaks.

"Captain I would prefer that you would gain a more serious attitude before we commence speaking of such a topic. It is taboo as is to discuss private matters such as this with someone outside the bond. Only because you are a prospective partner am I allowed to give you insight." Spock snaps, surprising Kirk with his tone enough to shut him up and let Spock talk.

Once given the green light to go on, the words flow from Spock like water from a faucet as McCoy would say, leaving a rather confused Jim Kirk to follow in his wake and pick up as much as he can.


	3. Chapter 3

Nearly a year later

Forty-six weeks. Three hundred and twenty two days. Seven thousand seven hundred and twenty eight hours. Spock keeps running over the figures in his head of the time passed since the Captain awoke, in a way, it calms him down. Kirk, however, has his own way of passing the time and stilling a rapid heartbeat. He replays that day in his head over and over, having unknowingly memorized each little detail long ago.

_ "I'm still not comfortable with this, Captain-"_

_ "Jim"_

_ "…Jim. This is the deepest thing that we Vulcans hold dear, I suppose you could say it is the last bit of emotion we dare hold onto, though we are far too proud a race to ever acknowledge that fact."_

_ "Get on with it Spock."_

_ "Our minds one, and together."_

_ Kirk knows those words far too well. They were among the first Spock Prime uttered to him in that cave what seems like ages ago._

_ "There are many types of bonds, of course. A familial bond, filial, that between a man and his pet, a much deeper bond that links both soul and mind, it's a fairly extensive list."_

_ "And why me?"_

_ "I have yet to figure that out for myself yet. My mind has seen you a compatible fit.."_

The conversation went mostly like that, with Spock droning on and on in his technical, logical voice, and Kirk listening to every word that seemed important and ignoring the rest. Then Jim did the stupidest thing ever. He told Spock to give him space and let him think. God how much more of a girl could he sound like. He may as well have 'friend zoned' Spock right then and there. The only problem is: He can't get the damn Vulcan off his mind, and now the other has seemingly grown distant, most likely tired of waiting for an answer.

There was a comfortable tug at the back of his mind for a while, letting Kirk know that Spock still was curious and cared, but now, no matter how much he concentrates and searches, he can't find even the slightest hint that that thin thread even existed.

"Keptain on ze bridge" The little Russian voice fills the bridge, holding back some child-like excitement as his genius fingers dance across his post.

Kirk breathes in the familiar scent of his bridge, white with flashes of colours here and there from the shirts of his crew and the little flashing lights that light up consoles all around him. It's his first day back on the Enterprise and his heart is racing. A five year mission looms ahead of him, deep space, uncharted territory.

"How's our core Mr. Scott?"

"Purrin' like a kitten, Captain. She's ready for a long journey."

The smiling captain, happy to be back home, takes his seat in the chair, only partially conscious of the dark eyes boring holes into the back of his head.

"Mr. Sulu – take us out"

"Aye, Captain."

His fingers curl around the ends of the armrest of his chair as they take off, setting an easy pace at warp factor 3.

"Wonderful to be back, huh Mr. Spock?" he turns in his chair a bit to cock up his eyebrows at Spock where he sits at his station.

"Of course, Captain." His words are like ice, no more soft, caring words, or calling Kirk by his first name. That Spock left when Kirk told him to wait.

"Oh would it kill you to show some emotion for once, Spock? Or is that green-blood too thick for you to care?" McCoy interjects from Kirk's side, his hands clasped loosely behind his back and his eyebrows knit together in a look of annoyance.

"I do not know what I did to provoke such harsh wo-"

"He's joking Spock" Kirk says with a sigh, hoping being back around the crew would lighten his mood a bit, but he seems as cold as ever.

Kirk just scoffs and turns back around, drumming his fingers against his chair anxiously.

"All of space. Where would you like to go first, Bones?"

His question is shrugged off with a grimace and Kirk returns it with a cocky smirk.

* * *

"Captain!" Uhura's voice blares over the ship-wide intercom. "Captain red alert! We need you on the bridge!"

Kirk had retired a bit ago, still a little weak from too much activity. Bones had given him a thorough talking-to about his health and such, but the weary captain just brushed him off. Now, startled awake, he rushes to the bridge in his black undershirt, regulation pants, and boots that are half under and half over his pants.

"Keptain!" Chekov flits around Kirk like a bug the moment the turbo-lift opens. "Klingons! They're pursuing us!"

"And how did we get close enough to the neutral zone _already _to warrant an attack?"

"We weren't expecting them, Captain," Sulu offers, working his magic at the helm. "We weren't informed of their proximity and before we knew it they put down their cloaking shields and were on us." With his words, all eyes turn to Spock at the science station where the sensors and special equipment for such tasks were located.

The half-Vulcan's jaw is slack as if he's surprised, and Kirk has to shove him out of the way. "Mr. Spock, meet me in the briefing room." Spock doesn't move. "Go! Get out of here!"

Not even a day into his journey, Kirk has to ward off a Klingon war bird that had been plaguing a nearby planet and had felt threatened by a Starships closeness. The bridge is flaming with activity as Kirk barks out orders, his head throbbing slightly until they manage to escape. It's a pitiful, narrow escape, not one to write down in the history books, but they are flying in a ship meant mostly for exploration and not so much for fighting. That's when he turns his attention to one insubordinate First Officer hiding out in the briefing room.

"Kirk-"

"Save it Uhura."

He doesn't know if it's the anger at Spock for basically ignoring him for the better part of a year, or the righteous anger at his First Officer for allowing such a major slip up to occur under his usually keen watch that spurs him on. Kirk has a fire brewing in him and Spock seems the most eligible target to let off some steam on.


End file.
